Theatre of Horrors: The Sordid Story of Paris' Grand Guignol
David Gregory
- 2025
- USA, France
- Documentary
- 1h27mn
- Original version with French subtitles
- Black and white with color
World premiere
In 1897, when Bram Stoker published Dracula, Oscar Méténier invented the Grand-Guignol. Live depictions of death, bloody melodramas, screams of the victims and the audience: here is the story of this Parisian theater of horrors that revolutionized the depiction of death in art.
After Indonesian horror and fake Bruce Lees, David Gregory turns his attention towards this unique and cathartic genre, born in the days when Charcot the scientist and Zola the writer both investigated the vertigos of the human soul. Featuring a lineup of captivating participants and archives from a Paris of mysteries, compelling us to go back to that era at once, and with Barbara Steele as the narrator MC, we couldn’t dream of a more fascinating immersion.
Credits
- Voiceover by : Barbara Steele
- Screenplay : Madeleine Le Despencer
- Editing : David Gregory
- Animation : Mike Etoll, Leslie Supnet, Ashley Thorpe
- Music by : Mark Raskin
- Production : David Gregory
